RACE INFORMATION

Jones wins XFINITY race at Texas: #20-Erik Jones won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his first XFINITY Series win in just his 9th start. #22-Brad Keselowski finished second, followed by #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #7-Regan Smith, #33-Austin Dillon, #6-Darrell Wallace, Jr., #54-Denny Hamlin, #9-Chase Elliott, #60-Chris Buescher, and #2-Brian Scott.
There were 6 cautions for 30 laps and 15 lead changes among 8 leaders. Complete results are on the Texas race results page (pdf).
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Texas Race & Points Report (pdf).(4-10-2015)

Texas XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Erik Jones won the 19th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 300, his first victory in nine NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
At 18 years, 10 months, 11 days, Jones is the second youngest winner at Texas (Chase Elliott).
A NASCAR Next graduate, this is Jones' fifth NASCAR national series win. He also has four wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2015.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in eight races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ty Dillon leads the point standings by 2 points over Chris Buescher.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-10-2015)

Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Texas: (and their finish)
Caution 1: none, no one on track a lap or more down
Caution 2: none, no one on track a lap or more down
Caution 3: #43-Armstrong, 16th
Caution 4: #44-Starr, 23rd
Caution 5: #16-Reed, 15th
Caution 6: #42-Poole, 13th
(4-10-2015)

QUALIFYING, PRACTICE, AND ENTRY INFORMATION

Erik Jones on XFINITY pole at Texas: #20-Erik Jones won the pole for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 185.166mph. #22-Brad Keselowski will start second. The rest of the top 10: #33-Austin Dillon, #18-Daniel Suarez, #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #7-Regan Smith, #2-Brian Scott, #6-Darrell Wallace, Jr., #9-Chase Elliott, and #60-Chris Buescher. Did Not Qualify: none. The starting lineup is posted on the Texas starting lineup page (pdf).(4-10-2015)

Texas XFINITY Qualifying Notes:
Erik Jones won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 19th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 with a lap of 29.163 seconds, 185.166 mph.
This is his second pole in nine NASCAR XFINITY Series races. He also won the pole at Auto Club Speedway.
This is his second pole and fifth top-10 start in 2015.
This is his first pole in one races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2015 and his eighth in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Austin Dillon (third) posted his sixth top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his fifth in five races this season.
Daniel Suarez (fourth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-10-2015)

XFINITY Entry List:There are 39 cars on the preliminary entry list for Friday nights's O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. A few notes:
Jeff Green is in the #10 for Tri-Star;
Timmy Hill will drive the #13;
Stanton Barrett is back in the #15 for Rick Ware;
Carl Long will drive the #40;
Brennan Poole returns to the #42 for Chip Ganassi;
Denny Hamlin will drive the #54 for Joe Gibbs;
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. returns to the #88;
Sam Hornish will drive the #98 for Biagi.(4-3-2015)UPDATE: The #55 team have been added with driver Brandon Gdovic.(4-3-2015)
See the complete list on the Texas entry list page.

XFINITY Qualifying procedure for 2015: In the NASCAR XFINITY Series, cars starting in positions 1-33 will be determined by their fastest single lap during qualifying in descending order with the fastest qualifier starting first. The next six positions will first be assigned to the highest ranking cars in owner points that have attempted all of the races, have not already earned a starting position through qualifying and have entered the event by the posted entry deadline. The final starting position will be awarded to the most recent eligible past champion driver. If there is no eligible past champion driver, then a seventh car will make the field based upon owner points.
Prior to this enhancement, the top 30 cars in owner points were guaranteed a starting spot in each event. Now, a maximum of seven cars will be locked into a given NASCAR XFINITY Series race. If a qualifying session is cancelled because of inclement weather, the field will be set per the rule book with starting lineups determined by practice speeds.

GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Set limits:
Sprint Cup: 5 sets for practice/qualifying and 12 sets for the race;
Xfinity: 8 sets for the event

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up at Texas this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that these teams ran twice at Texas last season . . . this left-side tire code (D-4392) has been run by NASCAR teams at Texas since 2011 . . . this right-side tire code (D-4618) was introduced at this track last April . . . this right-side tire employs Goodyear's multi-zone tread technology, which combines two distinct tread compounds on the same tire -- the outside 10 inches of the tread features a compound that is designed for grip, while the inside two inches of the tread is toughened to enhance durability on the part of the tire sees the most heat and takes the most abuse . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Texas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

NASCAR NEWS & NOTES

Texas Natives Buescher, Poole And Starr Are Ready To Put On A Show In The Lone Star State

Currently, Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher sits second in the series standings, five points back from Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon. Buescher’s consistency has been his strength thus far this season; in five starts he has three top fives and an average finish of 7.8. Buescher’s season-to-date driver rating is 100.5 (fourth-best in the series). One might say Texas Motor Speedway is 22 year-old Buescher’s home track - his hometown, Prosper, Texas, is just a mere 40 miles northeast of the oval. Buescher has made three starts at Texas posting a best finish of 13th last fall. Buescher has a busy weekend on tap. Following the NXS race Friday night, Buescher will stay and compete Saturday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race driving the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports.

Keep your eye developmental driver Brennan Poole, who is stepping into the HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi No. 42 Chevrolet this weekend. It will be Poole’s third start of the season for HScott Motorsports. In his first two starts, he has posted one top 10 and an average finish of 17.5. Poole hails from The Woodlands (a suburb of Houston), Texas about 250 miles south of Texas Motor Speedway. Poole harnessed his skills racing for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series prior to his moonlighting in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. This will be his series track debut at TMS this weekend.

David Starr is running his first full season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series with TriStar Motorsports and car owner Mark Smith. Starr has competed part-time in the series for 10 years, but this season in his full-time stint he sits ninth in the series standings; 51 points behind the standings lead. Starr has posted one top 10 (Daytona) and an average finish of 17.0 in 2015. Starr calls the big city of Houston, Texas his hometown. Texas Motor Speedway sits 275 miles north of Houston. In Starr’s 10 starts TMS he has posted an average finish of 25.9.

Chase Elliott Returns To Defend His Win At Texas

Last season, Chase Elliot joined an illustrious group of drivers (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Trevor Bayne) who posted their first career NASCAR XFINITY Series victories at Texas Motor Speedway. If he defends his win this season, he will be the first of the four drivers who posted their first win at Texas to do so.

While the odds look long for Elliott, there have been 14 different series winners at TMS and five of the 14 have multiple wins. Kyle Busch leads the series in wins at Texas with seven; including five consecutive victories from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2010. Three drivers have won back-to-back races at Texas - Mark Martin (1999, 2000); Kyle Busch (2008 sweep, 2009 sweep and spring of 2010) and Carl Edwards (fall of 2010 and spring of 2011). Kyle Busch is the only driver since the NASCAR XFINITY Series started competing at TMS twice a year (since 2005) to win consecutive TMS spring events (2008, 2009 and 2010).

The defending series champion, Elliott, has regained his groove and is riding the momentum of his four consecutive top-10 finishes following his season-opening DNF at Daytona. In five starts in 2015, he has an average finish of 9.8, a driver rating of 100.0 (fifth-best in the series) and a percentage of laps run on the lead lap of 97 percent (second-best in the series).

Last season Elliott’s car came alive in the second half of the spring race at Texas. He traded the lead with his teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick in the final stretches of the event, but took the lead for the final time on Lap 185 and went on to win the race. Elliott posted three wins last season; he is still looking for his first in 2015.

Sunoco Rookie Update: Wallace, Suarez, Chastain Are Rising To The Top

After the first five races of the season, Darrell Wallace Jr. leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by eight points over second-place Daniel Suarez and 11 points over third-place Ross Chastain.

Wallace has pulled ahead in the standings with his consistency this season; he hasn’t finished outside the top-15 in all five starts of 2015. His average finish is 11.4, and his season-to-date driver rating is 92.0 (eighth-best in the series). This will be Wallace’s first series start at Texas.

Just outside of Wallace sits Daniel Suarez who posted his fourth consecutive top-15 finish of the season at Auto Club Speedway a few weeks back. The Monterrey, Mexico native Suarez continues to improve each week, his average finish this season is 17.4 and his season-to-date driver rating is 78.4 (12th-best in the series).

Chastain continues to hold on to third in the rookie standings following his three top-20 finishes this season. Chastain kicked 2015 off red hot with a top 10 at Daytona, but since then he hasn’t finished better than 17th. This weekend at Texas, Chastain will make his series track debut at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Big Names Competing In The O’Reilly Auto Parts 300

Nothing gets the fans more excited than seeing their favorite drivers and this Friday they will get the chance to see all the NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers and some of the top NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contenders competing at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300.

NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be back in the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend. Earnhardt has made two starts this season posting one top 10 and an average finish of 11.0. He has made seven starts at Texas, posting one win (first series career win; 1998), three top fives, five top 10s and an average finish of 8.7. He finished fifth in this race last season.

2010 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion, Brad Keselowski will drive the No. 22 Ford this weekend with crew chief Greg Erwin. Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford currently leads the car owner standings by eight points over JR Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet. This will be Keselowski’s third start of the season. Keselowski has made 14 series career starts at Texas posting one win (2013), eight top fives, 10 top 10s and an average finish of 11.4.

2013 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Austin Dillon will be in the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at Texas. The No. 33 is currently fifth in the owner standings 37 points back from the lead. Dillon has made five series starts at Texas posting three top fives and an average finish of 5.2.

Sam Hornish Jr will drive the No. 98 Ford owned by Fred Biagi this weekend. Hornish has made eight series starts at Texas posting one top five, three top 10s and an average finish of 16.0.

Denny Hamlin will be in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in place of the injured Kyle Busch. Hamlin has 11 NXS starts at Texas with six top fives and eight top 10s.

Getting To Know Your Teams: Obaika Racing

Obaika Racing is making history by being the first African-owned NASCAR national series team. The team is owned by Nigeria native Victor Obaika. Obaika is an attorney by profession, but also is an entrepreneur in logistics, business advisory consulting and advertising.

Obaika describes NASCAR as the “ultimate entrepreneur’s dream” with a successful business and marketing platform that is known virtually across the world. His love for motorsports has fuelled his enthusiasm to own a NASCAR team.

Obaika Racing is a single-car NASCAR XFINITY Series team based out of Mooresville, North Carolina led by crew chief Dan Stillman and drivers Josh Reaume and Peyton Sellers. The No. 97 team has qualified for four of the first five races this season, posting an average finish of 31.5.

The No. 97 Obaika Racing Chevrolet will be piloted by 31-year-old Peyton Sellers in this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Sellers has made one series start (2009) at Texas posting a 26th-place finish.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.

Milestones Watch: Mike Bliss will be attempting to make his 350th NASCAR XFINITY Series start this weekend at Texas. If Bliss makes the start, he will tie Kevin Lepage and Randy LaJoie for ninth on the XFINITY Series all-time starts list. Bliss will be in the No. 19 TriStar Motorsports Toyota with crew chief Paul Clapprood this weekend. ...Jeff Green will attempt to make his 675th NASCAR national series start (NSCS-269, NXS-395 and NCWTS-10) this weekend. Green is 35th on the NASCAR national series all-time starts list; six starts behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 34th 680). Green won the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship in 2000. He has posted 16 wins, 87 top fives, 127 top 10s and 23 poles in his NASCAR XFINITY Series career. Green will be in the No. 10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota at Texas this weekend. ...

New Faces In The Series: Brandon Gdovic will take the next step in his career when he competes in the No. 55 Viva Motorsports Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Friday's race will mark the first start in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for the 23-year-old Virginian. Gdovic began his career short-track racing throughout Virginia. Over the past four seasons, Gdovic has competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and recorded his first career series victory in 2013 at Greenville-Pickens.

Welcome To The Booth: Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will make his FOX Sports TV booth debut this weekend at Texas for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. Gordon is one of the most revered drivers in the garage today. Along with his four NSCS titles he brings a lifetime of motorsports knowledge and insight that is almost unmatched. Below is a list of seven NASCAR XFINITY SERIES races on FOX and FOX Sports 1 for which NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are scheduled to serve as guest analysts:

This season, FOX Sports adds coverage of the NASCAR XFINITY SERIES for the first 14 races of the year. FOX Sports 1 telecasts 10 of the events while FOX broadcasts the races from Phoenix, Talladega, Charlotte and Dover.